Spring fork for motor cycles



J. A. PETERS. I

SPRING FORK FOR MOTOR CYCLES. APPLICATION HL'ED JAN. 12, I922.

Patented Apr. 18,, 1922.7

MZZ

JAMES Amnum ms, or THE WHITE HOUSE, NEAR SCARBOROUGH, E GLAND.

V srnme FORK :"on MOTOR CYCLES.

To all whom diff may concern." L

'Be it known that I, Jar/Ins. ARTHUR PETERS, a, British subject, residing at The White House, near Scarborough, in" the county of Yorkshire, England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in "SpringForks for Motor Cycles, (for which I have filed an application in England October, 21, 1920, No. 29,830,) of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an" improved springing mechanism for the wheels of-motor cycles, lightcars and the like, and is primarily designed for use in connection with a construction of motor cycle of the kind described in my co-pending application No. 528682 wherein the rear wheel of a motor cycle is held at the end of a radiusrod which at its'forward end is, hinged to the frame. The arrangement is, however, capable of application generally to automobiles.

According to the invention, the springing is efiected by means of the interposition. between telescopic members of two springs,

One form ofcarrying the invention into i effect is illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which Fig. 1 illustrates the general arrangement of a spring fork as applied to a motor cycle, and Fig 2 asectional view of the spring mechanism. Referring now to the drawing, the spring fork comprises the. forked arms a; rigidly mounted ona cylindrical extention b in which is adapted to slide an open-ended 'plunger'c. The ends of the forked arms a and of the plunger 0 are bored as shown at d for pivotal attachment to the frame. Within the telescopic parts I), c is fitted a spiral compression spring 6 adapted to support the' plunger-head against load, and 'within the said spring eis fitteda spiral tension spring 7 which isse'cured to the Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Apr. 18 1922.

Application filed. January 12, 1922. Serial 1\Tei528,683.

fork and plunger by means of bolts g,

The lower-endof the spring-f is slidablc upon the bolt h and under normal load oc-' cupies the position shown in the drawing and is under slight-tension.

In the case of excessive load or shock, V

spring e.f On recoil, excessive movement'of the plunger-head'beyond its normalposition.

stronger than the compression spring; and vibration of the plunger-head is eiiectually damped out; 1 v,

In the form shown, the fork is filled with lubricant and the movement of the plungerhead during use is adapted to lubricate the upper bearing (Z by the provision of a central tube j rising upwardly to the said upper bearing and communicating therewith through an o'pening'm, through which oil is forced from time to time on the depression of the plunger-head. .Borings at the lower end of the forks give access 7 to the lower bearings d, which are also maintained lubricated. fitted at its upper end with a to keep the joint clean.

Whilst illustrated as employed in a hinged oblique support for a motorcycle rearwheel, the springing system is not limited felt washer Z to this applicationbut may: be applied 7 V vertically to the axles of light cars or other automobiles where found suitable.

I claim v V p I '1. Inca motor cycle, 1neans for springing a road wheel comprising a frame, telescopic means secured to said frame for holding said wheel the upper end of said means being hinged to said frame, a load-supporting spiral compression spring within said telescopic means, one end of said spring being anchored to one element ofsaid'means, a

The extension 6 is supplementary spring concentric with and] of greater strength than said compression spring-and haying one endin fixedrelation 7 to said anchored end of said compression spring, a pair of oppos1tely placed abu ments positioned ..in fixed relation to the secondelement of the telescopic means, the

i0 V is resisted by the tension spring f which is free end of the second spring being capable of limited movement between the two abutments and the relative strength of the springs being such that one abutment only 5 comes into operation on excessive load and the other abutment on excessive recoil of the compression spring. 7

2, In a motor cycle, means for springing a road wheel comprisinga telescopic pillar terminating in a wheel fork, a load supporting spiral-compression spring within said pillar, a supplementary spiral spring concentric with and of greater strength than said compression spring, the said springs being relatively so adjusted that the supplementary spring serves on excessive load as a compression spring and on excessive recoil of the load-supporting spring as a tension spring, and means for allowing a certain amount of lost motion between the two operative ranges of the supplementary r sb. 111 a veh1cle,means i'or springlngaroad swheel comprising a hollow telescopic pillar terminating at its lower end in a hollow road wheel comprising a hollow telescopic pillar terminating at its lower end in a hollow'wheel fork, a transverse pivot bearing at the upper end of said pillar, wheel axle bearings at the lowerends of said fork, load-supporting spring mechanism seated within said pillar, means for storing and l retaining lubricant within said pillar and i'orl v and means for causing'lubricant to.

be supplied therefrom to said bearings dur ing use, comprising perforations in the walls of said bearings, and a tube dependingtrom the perforation in the wall of the upper bearing. a

In testimony whereof I afiix ml signature.

JAMES ARTHUR ETERS 7, 

